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How to Handle Employee Drug Use in the Workplace

January 01, 2011 posted by Steve Brownstein

by Bill Clifton

When an employee reveals that he or she has a drug or alcohol problem, employers have a number of options.

If the drug use is current and self-reported, the employer may terminate the employee, or place that person on a leave of absence to obtain treatment and return to work as a "last chance assistance agreement."

Such an agreement usually requires the employee to enter a substance abuse treatment program, at his or her own expense.

If the drug use is found through a positive test rather than self-reporting, the employer may choose automatic termination of employment, an easier option that involves no discretion.

Such a rule may have practical implications, however, such as losing a prime employee when the drug use may be a one-time occurrence, or accusations of discrimination if exceptions to this rule are made.

Rather than immediate termination, employers may choose progressive discipline, ranging from verbal or written warning, to suspension, and finally to termination.

In cases of positive drug tests, a last chance assistance agreement may also be a viable option. U.S. Department of Transportation procedures contemplate such an action for certain federally regulated safety sensitive positions.